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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Clip Chart Behavior Management Plan

I am linking up with Leigh, from The Applicious Teacher! She is having a behavior linky party and I love to talk about my behavior plan.

I've been teaching for 19 years, and during this time I have tried just about every behavior management gimmick known to man. I can honestly say I have finally found a management system that truly works for every child in my class. Even the hardest to manage child. I know many of you have heard of and are using the clip chart system, but, just in case you haven't heard of it, or are skeptical, I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain how and why it works.

The clip chart consists of a chart that has been divided into levels. All of the children start the day on Ready to Learn. Then, during the course of the day, the children move their clothespins up or down the chart, based on the behavioral choices they make. If they are making good choices, they can move their clothespin up a level at a time. Inappropriate behavior would cause them to move down a level. Since the children start in the middle of the chart, they have numerous opportunities to work their way up the chart. This really helps the children realize that they have to have self-control and be responsible for their actions and behavior if they want to be recognized for making good choices. Making it to the top of the chart is not easy, but it is definitely attainable. The children quickly realize how they must conduct themselves in order to achieve this goal. In the beginning of the school year, only 2 or 3 of my students made it to the top of the chart each day. But, as the days, weeks, and months wore on, more and more of them went home on red (the top of the chart). By the third quarter, just about all of them were clipping up to the top of the chart every single day. This speaks volumes! Even my most severe behavior case (someone who used to kick, spit, scratch, knock my tables over, and wreak havoc in my classroom) began to go home on red just about every single day after a few months. The parents love it, substitute teachers love it, and, most importantly, the children love it.

My students clip up when they:

go the extra mile to help a student in need.

are the first or second to do what I ask.

are extra polite and respectful.

do amazingly good work.

My students clip down when they:

interrupt me when I'm teaching.

are disrespectful to another student or adult.

cannot sit still or purposely keep another student from learning.

do not behave during lunch time or specials.

The children quickly realize how to behave appropriately in all kinds of situations. To make it to the top of the chart (or beyond) means so much to them because they see how proud I am of them. They are six feet tall when asked to clip up.

Each day, the children document what color they go home on so their parents are aware. In the beginning of the year, they needed to earn 4 outstanding's a month in order to get a special privilege. However, I had to change it to 8 outstanding's a month after a couple of months because so many of them were easily clipping up to the top of the chart almost every day. At the end of the month, they count up the number of outstanding's and choose a certificate if they earned 8-15 of them. If they earned 16 or more, they choose two certificates. Some of my certificates are:

lunch in the classroom (the most popular)

bring in a toy or book to share with the class

choose a sweet treat

choose an extra special treasure from the prize box (the second most popular)

extra computer time

You can download my certificates, for free, by clicking on the image below:

My clip chart is a little different from most because I combine this system with 1-2-3 Magic. You can download my clip chart by clicking on the picture below. (Please note that the clip chart you download will not have the 1-2-3 Magic component.)

CLIP CHART UPDATED JULY 2014!

These are the calendars I use for the children to document how their day went. You can download them for free by clicking here.

There is so much more I can say about the clip chart, but, my post is already super long. If you have any questions or want more information about how I use the clip chart and 1-2-3 Magic, please don't hesitate to ask.

80 comments:

Hi Lori,I am going to use a clip chart this year in the classroom. I have altered the language on each section, but the idea is still the same. Did you hang your chart from a hook? Also, what material did you use for the chart so there is space between the chart and wall to clip clothespins? I hope that makes sense.StorieStories by Storie

Hello, Storie! Yes, I bought little hooks from Wal-Mart. My clip chart is made out of paper and then I laminated it for durability. The hooks helped to create a space between the wall and the clip chart. I am so glad you will be using one next year. I just love it! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Hi! I'm familiar with 1-2-3 Magic. Do you count "1" which means move down one, etc., so that a "3" means Teacher's Choice of consequence? Or do you count to three and then move down a notch? The 1-2-3 Magic program hasn't worked the best for me at home because it seems like my kids would always act up twice or ignore me twice before reaching three, meanwhile my blood pressure was rising. Do you think this type of chart would work in the home setting? Thank you! I love it for the classroom.

If I say, "That's 1," that is equivalent to one clip down. So, a "That's 3" is Teacher's Choice. I do think a clip chart would work at home because some of the parent from my class made one for their home since it works so well at school.Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)Teaching With Love and Laughter

I love the clip chart. Thank you for sharing how exactly to use it. It is on my list of things to make. I wanted you to know that yorkies are my dream dog. I used to have schnauzers before I had the girls. One of mine has allergies and takes shots along with lots of meds. Dr says no dogs. Maybe someday...I just joined as a follower. Looking forward to great ideas here!www.kindertrips.blogspot.com

LOVE this Lory!! I use a system very similar, but there are only 2 steps up and 2 steps down. My kids earn a punch in a punch card if they are above white (our neutral color), but I LOVE that you have the kids color their star so their parents know what color they are on!! I'm going to implement that part next year!! Thanks for the wonderful ideas!NicoleRowdy in Room 300

Love the clip chart! I've used it for four years and have loved how it inspires the kids to work to get off the chart. I can't begin to count how many times I am greeted with, "I'm going to get off the chart today, Mr. Smedley!" And I hear lots of parents encouraging their child to get off the chart! And I love that it allows for teachable moments and lots of discussions about making mistakes and learning from them!!

I am revamping my chart as we speak! It's going to be "monstrously" cool when I'm finished! I hope you'll check it out on my NEW blog and share with your followers!

I love your clip chart. I think I will have to try it out. I have used punch cards, and really like them but I like the thought of the kids coloring in their star for parents to see. There seems to be more accountability. Would you be willing to share your behavior report? Thank you for the inspiring post!

Thanks for this post- I am definitely going to use the clip chart next school year. Love how you have the students color in their star for the day----easy and effective way to communicate behavior with parents. Would you be willing to share the form?

I'm so glad everyone likes my daily behavior report. I just uploaded the document to dropbox, so you can click the image and download it. The reason I didn't do this before is because if you don't have the font I used (Doodle Tipsy), it will not be formatted properly. Hopefully, you all have the font or you can change it to something else. Enjoy!

Hi Lori,This looks awesome! I love how the students can work their way back up even after they have made a poor choice or two. Could you share an editable version of your monthly chart with me also? I would love to adjust it slightly to go along with my Hollywood themed classroom!Thanks!Lauralcm06@hotmail.com

Jennifer, I use this with 3 different classes. I think it could work for you if the classroom teachers all used it and then you used it when they come to visit you. The take home behavior reports would be issued by each classroom teacher. To use the clip chart for 3 separate classes, I have a clip board version of the clip chart. If you want to see, email me and I'll send it to you.

I have used the clip chart for two years and absolutely love the concept. I love to see how excited my students get when their peers slide up! My principal had me present the chart at our last staff meeting of the year and now there are about 10 teachers at my school who are going to implement it next year... I'm thrilled! I really like how your students record their behavior on a monthly sheet. Right now, my form is weekly, so I might switch it up next year. Thanks for sharing!

I ran across your original post while blog stalking you! I posted about my plan for behavior management this coming year and I had to mention you because your idea is what I'm "stealing"! I linked back to your blog. I hope you don't mind. Thank you for sharing.Amy K.Where Seconds Count 2nd grade blog

Hello Lori, I absolutely love this idea! I teach 1st grade and am looking for something new to use for next year. Would you mind emailing the editable version of your behavior chart for parent folders to me as well? I can't wait to see how well it works!

Lorrie, I'm so glad you're going to try the clip chart. You won't be sorry! If you click on the image of the take home report, you will be able to download an editable copy. Just be sure to download and install the font, too.

I'm a third grade teacher and am excited about implementing the clipchart this year. I'm a little confused how it works if a student clips down to Parent Contact. Can they clip back up that same day? How do you document that for parent's understanding?

If a student clips down, they have the rest of the day to clip back up, based on the choices that they make. I don't do a Parent Contact. Mine says Teacher Choice, so I can make the decision to contact the parent or not. If a child's behavior is very poor, I will choose to contact the parent. I have a behavior note that I will send home in addition to the daily report.

Thanks for sharing this. I too would love to see your parent letter. I am ready to go except for the parent letter. I was also wondering do you notate the daily changes whether they moved "up" or "down" though out the day? How do you track those changes? Thanks for sharing this system.

Cynthia, I do not have a parent letter because I discussed the clip chart at Open House with all the parents. I do not note the daily changes because the most important thing is where they end up at the end of the day.

What if the child was on Great day & then made a poor choice in behavior? Would they just clip down once to good behavior (even though their action wasn't good?) Or would they go straight to Think About It?

Wow! This is so great! I can't wait to use the clip chart in my Kindergarten classroom next year! Would there be anyway you could send me the actual chart in a word format? I wanted to change some of the wording slightly.

Wow, love this. I have always used a "Get the Power" System. It is like 1,2,3. On the third warning they have to "Get the Power" which involves changing their place - still within part of the group, but closer to me... After a minute or so, I ask, "Do you have the power?" A yes response, lets them go back to their space. Oftentimes, they say "no!" Love that. They know that they will be distracted...

Hi. I read that you are a project CHILD teacher. I am new to PC (I am K-1-2 Math) and am wondering how you implement this with your three classes? I love the idea, just wondering if students move their clips based on where they were in the last room, or if it is a fresh new start?Thanks,

How nice to find another PC teacher. All 3 of us use the clip chart and I made a traveling clip chart that we keep on a clip board. I'll email you what it looks like and then you can make one to fit your needs. If a student comes to me on anything less than green, I give them a few minutes to prove to me that they can start all over again and I clip them back up to green. Works like a charm. Please, let your co-workers know that I blog a lot about writing. I'd love to get more PC followers. We can totally learn from each other.

I will be using something similar. However, I just downloaded your behavior report which I customized to my chart. Great idea! I'm teaching first grade for the first time this year, so I'm excited and hope this behavior management works! Are parents generally acceptable to this?

I LOVE YOUR BLOG!! I have found a fantastic way to reward students with Brag Tags. They motivate my students to behave with the promise of a reward Tag they collect for other Tags throughout the year. The tag "Caught Doing Good" Tag is one of my favs. They are only 15 cents each! BARGAIN!! Find them at www.boostpromotions.com.

hi! i just started teaching in a city school (i formally taught severely disabled kids)in a self contained 6th grade classroom. i am currently using the flip chart method (green, yellow, red) and i feel that it's not working so great. i really want to turn around the behaviors in my room asap esp since it's only september. I think i may try this method starting monday. any ideas of what you do for teacher's choice?

I think you'll see positive results with the clip chart. Teacher's choice can be anything I want it to be: note, email, or phone call home, loss of privilege, time out, sent to principal's office. The severity depends on what they did wrong. Good luck!

Lori, thank you for sharing this! I recently started using a clip chart with one level up from start (ready to learn,) and I have three levels down. I am having some trouble with my class this year, I have quite a few active boys who regularly go home on red which is my worst color possible. I have been advised by admin to take a look at my behavior plan because it seems to be ineffective. When I saw your chart with many colors above start I thought maybe this could work. I am curious though, do you let students move back up the chart if they change their behavior?

Amy, I absolutely let my students earn their way back up the chart if they clip down. It's important to do so or else they won't try to improve their behavior if they think it won't do them any good. Also, having only one jump up from Ready to Learn is definitely not enough. These kids need to keep striving for outstanding. That's why the clip chart should have 3 colors above Ready to Learn. I think you should see results by adding more colors.

Just found your blog while looking up something else, can't remember what it is now (LOL). Anyway, I use a clip chart for my 1st graders. I love the idea of certificates and plan to implement that in January. I also love the idea of having the students color their calendar as I spend too much time circling the color on each student's monthly behavior chart. Doing it themselves gives more ownership and is an activity which could be done quickly at the end of the day while packing up for dismissal. I see where others have asked for an editable version and would appreciate it if you could email that to me. My email is jpgdst4@aol.com. Thanks so much for sharing.

Found your clip chart post while searching for something else. I have a similar clip chart already in place but will definitely be using your clip chart with monthly calendar component next school year. Is there any way I can get the calendars e-mailed so I can modify calendars for next school year? Or can you please e-mail me a set of calendars for next school year? My e-mail is woods025@me.com. Thank you.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! For explaining how and why the clip chart works. I have been teaching 8 years now and I have just about given up with all the systems recommended to me. They all worked for a year and then no such luck. But I am so happy to hear about your experience and look forward to using it this year- and all the ideas for rewards, etc. I really appreciate your ideas and willingness to share!!! Kudos and God Bless.

Hi Lori! So I just landed a job mid year at a head start program as the teacher and before I got there, there wasn't much of a behavioral management plan. We do use 1-2-3 Magic, but simply asking the children to sit in a red thinking chair does NOTHING in correcting behaviors. I use to sub in a school who used the clip charts and I have been looking for one I liked and happened to find yours. AND I noticed you combined it with 1-2-3 Magic and I said its just a match! Hahaaa So could you tell me how you incorporate your 1-2-3 Magic with the clip chart and also what you use as Teacher Choice's?? I appreciate it TONS! Thanks, Sam :)

Samantha, congratulations on your new job! How exciting! I wrote this post many years ago and no longer use 1-2-3 magic. However, while I was using it, it worked like a charm. That's 1 would be equivalent to one clip down. That's 2, would be the second clip down. That's 3 would be Teacher's Choice. I like using Teacher's Choice because that puts me in control of the consequence, which I base on the nature of the infraction. It could be anything from moving away from the group, working alone, a note home, etc. It depends on what they did to get all the way down on the chart. Honestly, as the years went by, I found I didn't need 1-2-3 magic because the clip chart worked so well, I rarely had children clip down more than once. I highly recommend the clip hall of fame. That was definitely a game changer. I wrote a blog post about that, as well. Good luck to you! I'm sure you'll love it!

I still have the clip chart certificates. If you email me, I will send them to you. The clip chart is a freebie in my store and the link should still work for that. The calendars are also in my store, but are no longer free.

You can also find a PDF I wrote about the Clip Chart on my website. http://newmanagement.com/ebooks/clip_chart.html

One thought: I don't recommend starting the year with the CC. I always held off introducing it until I felt my students were displaying a bit of self-control.

Because the one glaring issue with the CC, as with most discipline programs, is the lack of any record keeping for inappropriate behavior. In other words, when the student is still at Parent Contact when the day ends, what do you discuss with the student? What do you tell the parents?

I say better to wait for more self-direction on their part so that the focus of your newly introduced CC will be on the positive side of things.